| We caught a bus each day
to central Vancouver. The centre is quite small, the suburbs being cities in
their own right. The English heritage shows though with names like Surrey
and Richmond. (Someone missed that Surrey is a county!) The shopping malls
are extensive and include underground sections. Vancouver is on a slope so
we went both under and over roads as we walked through it on the level. Some
of the modern architecture is quite spectacular. |  |
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Then a small remnant of the old city still remains squeezed between two
giant skyscrapers. This plot must be worth a bit. Most of the city is owned
by the Salish nation although I suspect they only get a pittance in ground
rent. |
| This impressive building
looks like a bank and the name Birks even sounds like one, but it is in fact
a jewellers. Don't ask the prices...... |  |
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Another really impressive building is the Canadian Pacific Railroad station
which is still in use as such. |
| Inside is as impressive
as the outside with the panels around the tops of the walls being paintings
of scenes in BC. |  |
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The other end of the spectrum is the art painted on the walls. Skilful and
attractive if you like the style. Certainly eye-catching. We were impressed
by this "Escher". |
| Like most cities there
are oddities like this steam powered clock which whistles Westminster
chimes. It is actually powered by an old Mamod steam engine. A bit of naff
for the tourists. |  |
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Canada is very green and encourages cyclists. However there is a rule of the
road and you must ride the cycleways correctly, especially on the one way
streets. |
| Now this was my view of
north American cities with cars hurtling down the alley and bouncing off the
garbage bin at the end. This is in the heart of the city! |  |
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It does rain in BC (all the time!) and the water features are there to wet
the steps if ever it doesn't. |
| This is Canada Place on
the waterfront. It is partly a convention centre and partly a cruise ship
terminal. Cruises mainly go to Alaska and the season has ended so it lies
mostly idle now. |  |
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Across the bay is North Vancouver, a city in its own right. We are camped a
couple of miles to the left. |
| The mound is sulphur and
should normally be bright yellow. The blue
needle is an artwork about 25ft high on this side. I missed the top. I just
couldn't get the angle. |  |
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Looking back from the Canada Place pier at the city centre. The round bit on
top of the tower is a viewing platform from which you can see over the whole
city. We didn't go up because the rain and poor visibility most of the time
would have made it a disappointing view. |
| A closer view of the
tower. There is a restaurant up there and it is probably a great attraction
in better conditions. |  |
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There are several 1930s art deco style buildings which are good to
view both inside and out if you can get far enough away and didn't mind
the trolley bus wires. |
| The detail round this
doorway is very ornate. This is being renovated so the angles were very
restricted by the scaffolding. The lifts inside are similarly ornate. |  |
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Another building from the same period. The roof is undergoing some work so
there are a number of blue tarpaulins covering some parts. I think this is
a town hall or similar. |
| High up about eight
stories up I spotted this ship. You have to keep your eyes open. We also saw
a statue of a woman on the corner of a building. But when we asked a
policeman who she was, he was very embarrassed to admit that he should know
but hadn't got a clue. |  |
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A bronze statue outside one of the buildings. Lifelike and life size. |
| Outside the city we
spotted this house in a colonial style (taken from the Van Dusen Gardens). |  |
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